The Dawning of Fate

Ginger braids lay splayed across my chest as Echo rests against me. Her soft curves and smooth skin feel like heaven beneath my fingertips. I watch while she sleeps, tiny breaths fanning across my abdomen with every exhale.

I do not know why Matu and Fati have given her to me as a mate. For I am not worthy of someone so radiant. Nevertheless, she is mine and I will not give her back.

My Terran. My al sisi.

I brush a finger over the two puncture wounds on her shoulder; my mark. My chest rumbles with pride. The sight caused my haju to swell.

Echo stirs and stretches her lithe figure with an exaggerated grunting sound. I watch, amused. When her eyes settle on me, a smile spreads across her face and I feel the engravement on my wing pulse slightly.

“Goodmorning,” she greets with her Terran phrases. I respond in kind and lower my head to capture her velvety lips. I swallow her faint moans as I delve my tongue between her teeth. Unlike me, everything about her is soft, even her tongue, and the contrast is exquisite.

She pulls back gasping with an elated expression on her face. “Someone’s excited this morning,” she says. Tiny fingers wrap around my haju and begin gentle strokes. My heavy breaths turn to groans as she tightens her grip, increasing in speed.

Thick arousal permeates the air driving me to position myself on top of her. Pinning her hands on either side of her head, I stare into her stormy eyes as I glide my haju between her slick folds. She moans and her lip finds its way between her teeth. Gods above, I love it when she does that.

I continue to tease the entrance and she writhes with need. Extending a claw, I trace along her body. Skin so delicate and easy to tear, but I’d never ruin such beauty. The scent of fear enters the mix and I look up to find Echo’s eyes on me. I smile in mischief and a fresh wave of her arousal floods my senses. The sensation amazes me how she can be fearful and aroused in the same notion. The fear isn't potent, like that of hunted prey, but subtle like a wafting breeze. She acknowledges that my build is superior to hers which insights fear but she also knows I'd never harm her. At least I hope so.

Her chest rises and falls, displaying squishy mounds there enticingly. Dipping my head, I take her hardened peak and suck it into my mouth. She mewls in response, generously feeding me more. My sharp teeth graze the darkened tip softly and she moans louder.

“Zan, please. I need you,” she whimpers. Who am I to deny her? I'm barely holding it together as is.

Leisurely, I press myself into her entrance. The sheath so warm and snug, greedily taking all that I give. Echo’s moaning fills my ears, her honied arousal fills my nose, and her euphoric features fill my eyes, drowning my senses in all things Echo. It takes all of my inner strength not to ram myself into her tight walls. She feels so good.

Long legs with lavish curves wrap around my body. I secure her wrists above her head whilst beginning to stroke inside of her. Warm walls welcome me with a secure hug. Something deep inside me is begging to break free, to take control. But I won’t let it. This my time. Whatever it is will have to wait.

Grunts and moans of pure pleasure bounce off the walls. My movements become faster, more precise and her insides clutch harder, unwilling to let me go. Her release is explosive. Screams and spasms. The grip she has in my haju feels so good. I don’t know how much longer I can hold out. As I piston forward, I feel myself swelling painfully but I do not want this to end. I could bury myself in her sheath until my last breath is stolen and die a happy Tumerian.

My eyes find Echo’s and she notices my dilemma. With an impish smirk, she clenches her walls tightly. I grunt loudly with one final thrust and my release bursts within.

“You’re an evil little minx,” I tell her once our frenzied state settles and she laughs in delight.

“Your brother is coming today?” We enter the bath and Echo adjusts the showering water to her desired temperature.

“Unfortunately.” She laughs and hits me. I smile and wrap her in my arms.

“Stop it, you know you love your brother.”

“Yes, I do but I’d much rather spend the day bringing you to unimaginable heights of pleasure,” I respond whilst gripping the ample flesh on her bottom. “Why are you so soft?” I mumble, placing gentle kisses along the column of her neck.

“Mmm, I don’t know. Genetics?” Satisfied moans fall from her lips. I will never get enough of this, of her. Suddenly, a wave of possessiveness takes over me and I press our bodies closer until her back is against the stone wall. When I heft her into my arms, she wraps her legs and arms around me.

"Mine," I growl into her neck and she moans in response. After I mate with her again in the bath, Echo and I put on clothes and prepare to eat the morning meal.

“Would you like to eat outdoors?” I ask her, feeling spontaneous. She grins and nods but what she didn’t expect was for me to fly her, along with our food, to the roof. Her little shriek of surprise was quite amusing. The dome is level enough for us at the top to sit comfortably so we do.

“Do you come up here a lot?” She asks, taking in the view of the land from up here. The garden of fruits and vegetables looks mesmerizing alongside the freshly planted flowers. I'm glad I decided to go with spiral gardening because the view from up here is spectacular.

“Sometimes when I need to think, more often recently.”

“Oh? Is that because of me?” she asks, raising an eyebrow. I chuckle.

“Yes, little Terran. You have shaken up my world in the most amazing way.” The smile she offers me is easily burned into my memory. I'll cherish every moment I share with her and lock it away in my memories so that I may revisit it over and over.

My ears pick up the sound of someone approaching the perimeter. My hackles instantly rise. Thunder barks loudly, hearing the footsteps as well.

“Azandum are your defenses calibrated to allow me access? Because I’d rather not be reduced to molecules just yet,” my annoying twin yells from the other side.

“I guess you will have to step through and find out,” I call back. Echo gives me a stern look and I smirk. Amondis walks through the barrier and the dog growls before walking back into the house. The beast is starting to grow on me.

Echo does the hand gesture she calls a “wave” to say hello to Amondis and he repeats it, looking utterly ridiculous. This gesture’s name makes no logical sense because it does not imitate ocean waves. He joins us on the roof and settles beside me.

“Echo, I have given the liquid you gave me to a female. She liked it,” he tells her. Her eyes go wide with excitement.

“Really?” He nods. “That’s great! So did you like her or were you just trying to get laid?”

“Get laid?” he asks.

“You know, get laid.” She holds her hands up, using one to create a makeshift hole then sticks her finger through that hole repeatedly.

I snort at the crude gesture. Amondis laughs wholeheartedly.

“If you must know, I was not trying to get laid. I have taken interest in this female,” he answers with mirth. "Brother, your mate is hilarious."

My mate.

“Good for you. Maybe I’ll meet her one day.” She finished eating and we flew down, heading towards the study. Echo settles on the couch with a book and Thunder across her lap.

“So what exactly are we looking for?” I ask Amondis as we make our way through the library.

“Anything you have on Tumerian culture, traditions, that sort of thing. The older it is the better. Personal accounts of someone who experienced the bond would be ideal, but that's a long shot. Since the elders aren't able to assist us, we'll need to gain as much knowledge as possible.”

So we search and come up with a few publications and journals. Taking them back towards the desks, we all sit in silent research.

“Here,” Amondis finally says. “Whoever wrote this journal was researching the al sisi bond. According to him, there is a mark that signifies the activation of the bond, which you have, and he mentions something about acceptance rituals. Most of it is just ramblings about how he felt about the whole thing and the story we were told as saplings.”

“What story?” Echo asks.

“It’s a story about the al sisi bond that is told throughout Tumeria,” I answer for her. She sets the book down.

“Can you tell me?”

“It is said that the people of Tumeria are descendants of great winged beasts who once ruled the skies,” Amondis starts. Echo listens with the wide-eyed enthusiasm of a fetching.

“These beasts had everything they could ever desire: an abundance of food, treasure, power, etc. But there was one beast who wanted something more; he wanted a family. He begged Matu and Fati for a child of his own. They did not give him what he wished. Instead, he was told that he must prove himself worthy of such a gift. Many moons passed and the beast fell into despair, for he had done all that he could to prove himself yet he was not granted the child. Rather, the Mother and Father sent him an al sisi, a lifemate.

Our people stuck to the belief that only the worthy shall receive an al sisi. As the story goes, a beast still sleeps within each Tumerian, only to be stirred awake by its mate. Anyway, lunars went on, the story turned to myth. Many people forgot, others simply didn’t believe it. There have been tales of people finding their mate but that was hundreds of lunars ago.”

The silence that settles over us is deafening. Echo appears to be trying to process the story. She’s shaking her head.

“What’s wrong?” I ask her. She looks at me with furrowed eyebrows.

“I’ve heard this story. Well, no. I’ve seen it.”

“That is not possible. This happened thousands of lunars ago,” Amondis says and I’m inclined to agree. She shakes her head furiously.

“No. In my dreams, I’ve seen it. There was a woman. She showed them to me; she showed me what happened.” Echo shoots up out of her seat with a gasp. Thunder is instantly alert. “She showed me the birth of your people!”

Amondis and I stare at her in shock, amazement, and disbelief.

“Echo, are you telling us that Matu appeared in your dreams?” I ask carefully. She nods frantically, clearly in as much shock as we are.

“She wouldn’t tell me her name, all she said was that she was a guide. I saw her standing before the beast, I saw the beast and his lover, and their child.” Echo rambles on about everything that happened.

“But why?” Amondis asks, interrupting her rant.

“We weren’t the only ones in my dreams. There was this huge dragon, at least that's what we call them on Earth. Not that we have dragons on Earth because that would be crazy. I mean who knows maybe we do and we've just nev-"

"Echo," I drawl. She stops and smiles sheepishly.

"Right, sorry. She kept saying it was my...fate.” Her voice trails off in realization. “Vrat,” she says in her Terran accent. Amondis snorts in laughter.

I sit back and take in all the information. Matu, the Matu, appeared in Echo’s dreams. A Terran that’s touched by the gods.

“What does this even mean?” Amondis asks with exasperation. I wish I knew.

Echo sits back down and sighs. “You said these dreams were happening nearly every night?” I query. She nods. “When was the last dream you had?”

“Last night actually,” she admits and I look at her in shock. She was talking to Matu while I lay right beside her. Imagine that. “She said that that would be the last time we saw each other and it was time to accept my fate.”

“What does she mean by “your fate”?

“You,” she replies, locking her eyes with mine.

“Faex, the story is real! But why did no one find a bond for all these lunars if they still exist? Why now? Why you? No offense Echo but I mean you are Terran, not Tumerian.” Amondis stares at the ceiling in question.

“Maybe because you guys were assholes to other people,” Echo mumbles quietly to herself. Our eyes narrow on her and she chokes in embarrassment. “I’m not apologizing. My species isn’t perfect by far and I’m sure not all your people are bad but every last one of them that took part in what they did to Zan can meet the end of my blade,” she hisses.

I smirk. My fierce Terran warrior. It would be quite comical to see their reaction to the fiery female. She may be small in size but she's twice as strong as any man. “Well, she’s got a point. Tumeria’s past is ripe with blood. Perhaps things have changed in our absence, brother.”

Amondis scoffs in disbelief before looking at the journal. He despises Tumeria as much as I do. “It says here that there are four rituals that must be completed to accept the bond of the al sisi: trust, fertility, spirit, and blood.”

“Blood?” Echo and I say in unison.

Amondis ignores us to continue reading then switches to another one of the publications. “Okay, this talks about the old rituals. Trust and fertility rituals seem fairly simple. The spirit ritual however seems a bit hazardous and the blood ritual,” he pauses with a grimace before looking at us with pity.

I snatch the book from him and read it myself. “We must drink each other’s blood to solidify the bond. It is the tie that binds all four rituals and without it, the bond will remain incomplete.”

Echo’s face is the epitome of disgust. “Drink your blood? What type of shit is that? No offense Zan but that’s the one part of you I’d rather not taste.”

Amondis groans in revulsion and I laugh. “I do not fault you for your reluctance, little Terran. How about we focus on the other three first?” I hold my hand out to her and she comes to me, settling in my lap.

“Hey, I know this symbol,” she says looking at the book.

“Another one of your dreams?” Amondis inquires, leaning over the table a bit to see inside the book.

“No, this is the Seed of Life. It’s a symbol in sacred geometry,” she explains.

I trail my fingers along her back, unable to keep my hands off her for too long. “This is a Tumerian publication. How could you possibly know this symbol?”

She turns to look at me. “Sacred geometry is the language of the universe. These geometric patterns symbolize the connection between all things,” she turns back to the book and traces her finger over the drawing. “Wow, I can’t believe it.”

“Brother, your Terran is magnificent. Perhaps I should kidnap me one,” Amondis says thoughtfully, making Echo laugh.

“No kidnapping defenseless humans Amondis, but I appreciate the compliment,” she says, leaning back into me.

Laying my hand flat on her abdomen, I imagine Echo heavy with my child. A deep resonance spreads throughout my body at that thought. Amondis glances at me curiously, hearing the sound I just made. This reverberated sound is not something my people do. I’ve only ever felt it when I think about it or if I am with Echo. The sound comes from me but another part of me. Apart I am unfamiliar with and have yet to unleash.

“So, when shall we start?”